For controlling the temperature of batteries of modern hybrid and electric vehicles, use is commonly made of the cooling plates through which fluid flows, and/or of an additional heater. Owing to the generally better heat conduction characteristics, said cooling plates are normally produced from metallic or electrically conductive materials. As the battery cells that are used normally have a housing composed of a metallic material, additional electrical insulation is required between the cooling plates and the battery cells in order to prevent short-circuits and leakage currents. To be able to ensure said insulation, thin plastics foils or applied layers composed of thermally conductive material, such as for example silicone, are normally used. The application of such insulation layers however normally involves considerable outlay, for example for preparation, cleaning and particle elimination, wherein coatings composed of silicone are normally very expensive and pose problems in terms of processing owing to their viscous characteristics. Furthermore, a curing time is required, which has an adverse effect on production costs.